Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court's decision that overturned "separate but equal" in public schools. Students learn about segregation and "equality under the law," and they use what they learned to craft compound...
Activity
Curated OER

National Park Service: Brown v. Board of Education

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Park Service provides backgroud on the historic U.S. Supreme Court racial segregation case, Brown vs. Board of Education. Includes a link to a PDF on related historical places (requires Adobe Reader).
Primary
This Nation

This nation.com: Brown v. Board of Education (1954)

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from ThisNation.com provides Chief Justice Earl Warren's full text of the Supreme Court's decision in this landmark case.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Civil Rights Special Collection

For Students 9th - 10th
Multimedia collection of video, primary text documents and audio on Civil Rights, especially Brown vs. Board of Education.
Unit Plan
The Dirksen Congressional Center

Congress for Kids: The Supreme Court

For Students 9th - 10th
The Dirksen Center provides a page of excellent links to information about the Supreme Court including information on Brown v. Board of Education, the Constitution test, a dual court system, equal protection, supreme court judges, the...
Handout
Other

Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka: Background

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a background summary for the Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka case.
Website
Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University: Separate but Not Equal

For Students 9th - 10th
Telling pictures of elementary schools for Blacks and Whites during the 50s and 60s. Discusses the situation in Prince Edward County that led to the Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County court case.
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Brown vs Board of Education

For Students 9th - 10th
Comprehensive overview and detailed facts about Brown vs Board of Education, a 1954 Supreme Court case won by NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall against school segregation.
Website
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Linda Brown 1943

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read a brief summary of the life story of Linda Brown whose civil rights experiences were the basis for the famous historical case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Separate but Equal: A Study of Segregation

For Students 9th - 10th
Given Supreme Court case summaries, students will compare and contrast the impact of the Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education decisions.
Activity
Illinois Institute of Technology

Oyez Project: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

For Students 9th - 10th
The U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and dealt with the issues of equal protection and racial discrimination. This resource provides an abstract containing a concise summary, a link to the full text of the...
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Separate but Equal: The Plessy v. Ferguson Case

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the judgment of Supreme Court justice, Henry Billings Brown, who wrote for the majority in the Plessy v Ferguson decision that codified the idea of "separate but equal" in the American justice system until it was overturned by Brown...
Website
Other

Ahc: Civil Rights Movement: The Surge Forward: 1954 1960

For Students 9th - 10th
Detailed discussion of the civil rights movement between 1954-1960 including summaries of events such as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Rosa Parks & the Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-1956, school desegregation, Sarah Keys v....
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Separate No Longer?

For Students 5th - 8th
An explantion of how the Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board of Education of Topeka turned the concept of separate but equal on its head. See how they determined that the 14th Amendment was being violated when schools did not fund...
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Brown Reactions: Black Educators

For Students 9th - 10th
This 1954 statement, issued by a group of black educators, strongly endorses the Supreme Court's Brown ruling.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Brown Reactions: Judge Brady

For Students 9th - 10th
This 1954 statement from Tom Brady, a founder of the White Citizens' Council movement, expresses opposition to the Brown decision.
Primary
This Nation

This nation.com: Brown v. Board of Education 2 (1955)

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from ThisNation.com provides Chief Justice Earl Warren's full text of the Supreme Court's decision in this landmark case.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Brown Reactions: Editorials

For Students 9th - 10th
This sampling of newspaper editorials from the mid-1950s reflects the range of public opinion and responses to the Brown decision.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: Segregation: From Jim Crow to Linda Brown

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Lesson from the Library of Congress on "the era of legal segregation in America, from Plessy v. Ferguson (1897) to Brown v. The Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas (1954)."
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Documenting Brown: Collected Excerpts

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection of excerpts from legislation and court decisions documents key phases of the legal struggle to gain and implement equal education.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Documenting Brown: Civil Rights Act of 1964

For Students 9th - 10th
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 helped enforce the Brown ruling, a decade later.
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Today in History: October 2: Thurgood Marshall

For Students 9th - 10th
Site about the noted career of Thurgood Marshall, leading civil rights advocate and first African-American to sit on the Supreme Court. This article has information on his education, his work with the NAACP, his involvement in Brown v....
Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: Lau v. Nichols (1974)

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court's decision that required public schools to provide language supports to English and multilingual learners. Students learn how Lau's arguments relate to the landmark case, Brown v....
Website
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Barbara Johns

For Students 9th - 10th
The amazing story of Barbara Johns, the 16-year-old who called a strike and walk out to protest the overcrowding of Robert Russa Moton High School.